Chris Collinson
BBC football statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Hull City defied history and statistics in the Championship last season by not only becoming the first sixth-placed side to be promoted to the Premier League since Blackpool in 2010, but doing so despite having the second-worst expected goal difference in the league.

Despite only four teams taking fewer shots, only four scored more goals than Sergej Jakirovic's side as they had the best shot-conversion rate in the league.

This was partly because only two sides created better chances on average, although they still scored 10 more goals than expected even taking that into account.

The fact that Hull got promoted with one of the worst defences is even more remarkable, as only three sides conceded more goals.

On top of that, the Tigers actually conceded 14 fewer goals than expected given the number and quality of shots they faced, with only two teams giving up more shots and only bottom side Sheffield Wednesday having a worse defence in terms of xG.

Such an incredible achievement means Hull City have a fight on their hands to not become the victims of their own success this season.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at the MKM Stadium

Amad Diallo is missing from Manchester United's matchday squad this afternoon.

Michael Carrick didn't mention anything on Thursday but I assume he is injured.

Hull City dish out debuts to summer signings Konstantinos Tzolakis, Nobel Mendy and Elliot Stroud.

Hull City XI: Tzolakis, Coyle, Giles, Ajayi, McBurnie, Belloumi, Egan, Stroud, Crooks, Slater, Mendy.

Subs: Phillips, Millar, Hjerto-Dahl, McNair, Drameh, Herrington, Targett, Dowell, Gourna-Douath.

Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos make their Manchester United debuts, while Marcus Rashford is on the bench.

Man Utd XI: Lammens, Mazraoui, Maguire, Fernandes, Cunha, Dorgu, Santos, Tielemans, Mbeumo, Shaw, Heaven.

Subs: Darlow, Dalot, Martinez, Rashford, Zirkzee, Yoro, Sesko, Lacey, Mainoo.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at the MKM Stadium

Manchester United staff were quick to stress in Poland last week that Marcus Rashford's number nine shirt should not be regarded as permanent.

It fueled more speculation the England forward might leave before the transfer window closes, even though it is not anticipated that will happen.

Presumably Manchester United are responsible for letting Hull know what numbers to assign their players in the match programme - and Rashford doesn't have one.

However, the club have now confirmed Rashford will wear the number nine shirt in 2026-27.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

With the new season under way, BBC Sport has just the thing to keep you entertained every week.

After the success of our World Cup Predictor game, we've rebranded it for the club season as Match of the Day Predictor.

It's simple to play - just predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

The deadline for this weekend's game has already passed, but you can now predict the scores for the next gameweek.

For more details on how to play and how to build your streak can be found here.

The Premier League is back - and you can keep across the action all season long on the BBC.

Arsenal and Coventry played last night, with the rest of week one matches spread across Saturday and Sunday, followed by Fulham hosting Chelsea in the sole Monday night fixture.

Throughout the 2026-27 season, you can watch highlights from every game on Match of the Day, get live updates in our text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app and keep across all the goals as they go in on Final Score.

You can get live score updates on your phone lock screen simply by following your favourite teams.

And you can listen to match coverage wherever you are in the UK via BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sounds app.

Digital highlights will be available post-match on the BBC Sport website and app.

The details of how you can keep up to date with every game on the BBC can be read here.

Hull City's assistant head coach Dean Holden came on the Monday Night Club this week and spoke really well about how they will approach the Premier League. It sounds like they will be horrible to play against, and will be happy to go direct when they have to.

With them starting at home, getting a result against Manchester United - who Holden is a big fan of - could really make their season.

I think they will be competitive, but my worry for Hull is from looking at how they did last year, when they lost a third of their games in the Championship.

As a story, Sergej Jakirovic getting them from 21st place into the play-offs, and then up, is remarkable. Now they just need to hang on in there in the Premier League, but that will be very difficult.

United have not done much in the transfer market this summer, but Youri Tielemans is a really good signing - a safe signing, if there is such a thing - like Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were last year.

As things stand, they are going to be stretched by being in the Champions League and I do feel like Carrick overachieved by getting them there.

Now the expectations are rising following their third-place finish, but they are nowhere near Arsenal at the moment.

I think them having European football, while Tottenham and Chelsea don't, will have a huge bearing on the season, which is why I left United out of my top four.

They should begin with a win, but this is the start of a full-on campaign for them, which makes it far more difficult, and they will need to add to their squad.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League is back!

Defending champions Arsenal kicked off the new season last night with a comfortable win against newly-promoted Coventry.

Today, five games are taking place, starting with Hull hosting Manchester United.